Delivered by Desire: The Encouraging Truth About Christians and Sexual Purity presents a biblical solution to what many would call the battle for modern Christian men: sexual purity. His approach to the problem is not very common, which is unfortunate, because his approach is the only one which brings any hope for victory. His view is that a Christian can only have victory over sexual sin, or any other sin, once he realizes that in Christ he is a new creature--not just a forgiven sinner, but a new person with new, holy desires. Once a Christian realizes this, and begins to act accordingly, he can have victory over sin. It is this idea which gives the book its title, Delivered BY Desire. Our sinful desires (like sexual lust) are being pushed out and replaced by a new, ultimate desire to love and serve God, a desire which will lead us to purity, if we follow it. This truly is the only biblical approach to fighting sin, sexual or otherwise. Wingerd does a wonderful job of applying the doctrine of regeneration to the topic of fighting sexual sin. He uses short chapters, non-technical language, down-to-earth imagery, and very practical applications.

There are two drawbacks to the book, though they do not detract from its general helpfulness. First, we wish that some of the appendices had been worked into the main body of the book, since they are sometimes referred to very frequently in footnotes. The other drawback is that the book does not really deal with Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 7, that if one cannot control himself sexually, then he should get married. This is often a difficult topic (due to how easily it can be misunderstood and applied), yet it is necessary to a treatment of sexual purity, for marriage is another weapon against lust and its offshoots. Wingerd mentions this teaching once (p. 32), but only in passing, and many Christians will require more help in understanding it.

In spite of these two drawbacks, this is still very likely the best book in print for those attempting to defeat sexual sin, which doubtless includes most Christian men. Any young Christian man would benefit from the book, as would anyone dealing with lust. As the preface explains, Christian women would do well to read this book also, since it will help them to understand the struggles of men around them. The book is fundamentally a very helpful explanation of regeneration, specifically as that truth relates to the battle with sin. For a more thorough treatment on the doctrine of regeneration we would recommend Charles Leiter's Justification and Regeneration; it is the best book we know of on the subject.

Most men believe that accountability is the invincible weapon for fighting lust, but many of us have found that this method falls short. It helps for a while, granted, due to the repulsive power of embarrassment. But what's next? We need something more potent if we are to experience lasting victory.

Daryl Wingerd dug up and brushed off the Bible's core explosive device for defeating habitual sexual sin. You won't find this concept in most self-help books on the subject--even Christian ones. I'm convinced you will discover here the volatile material able to finally decimate lust as a pattern of life, in you and in those you help. Like others, you may say, "I've not read a book quite like this for clarifying the biblical way to succeed over this troubling issue."

Women may wish to read this book also. It will help them understand what their husbands and sons may face. Though writing from the man's perspective, the author is not unaware of how lust can become a woman's problem as well. In fact, believers in general may wish to read Delivered by Desire to discover how to overcome habitual sins. The biblical principles will apply.